Yes...Because...And

I'm in an improv theater performing group and we improvise full-length plays. In improv, information self organizes into meaning (a coherent story) and structure (a 90-minute play) from adhering to the principles, not from planning strategy - see December blog post "Contained by Principles."

Yes And. It is accepting the reality that someone offers, and adding a new piece of information to it: A: "Joe went to the store." B: "At the store (accepting reality), Joe got some bananas (adding something new)." And so on.

Yes And...Because, another popular version, takes it a step further. Not only do you accept and add to the reality, you justify (i.e.,this is important because) what you are adding: "At the store Joe got some bananas because, after the accident, he's been on an all-banana diet"...and a story is forming.

With organizations, I use another version I call Yes...Because...And with their real-world situations. In this version, people have to justify why what the other person said is important. It is the opposite of the current working paradigm of fending for yourself and selling your ideas. In this exercise, you have to justify why the other person's ideas are great, and they justify why yours are.

Imagine being in a brainstorming, visioning, or strategy session, and instead of everyone looking for what is wrong with what you said, they have to give reasons why it will work. This process faciliates people in supporting each other, moving beyond initial habitual reactions, and using the imagination to come up with novel ideas. It allows the ideation to keep moving and new potentials to emerge...and it builds trust and safety within the team (more safety = more original output).

Using Yes...And...Because for new product or strategy development: Each person accepts the feature the person in front of them added, justifies why it is a good idea, and adds a new feature, which then gets justified by the next person.

- Accept
- Acknowledge
- Justify
- Add

When it is over, your team has more ideas, more innovative ideas, and threads for new directions from which to choose. Then, after the new ideas and connections have emerged, you begin the process of discernment.

For more on the uses of improv in organizations, click the Improvisation button on my website and scroll to "Why Improvisation?"